Fring raises the bar with group video chat, but lackluster call quality hampers a great idea.

You know that scene in TV shows or movies (I'm thinking of a memorable episode of Family Matters, in particular) where a bunch of characters get on the phone with each other, and the screen splits into blocks, showing everyone all at once, Brady Bunch-style? Have you ever watched one of those scenes and thought, "If only I could get on the phone with all my friends like that, it would be so cool?" Well now, with the latest release of mobile chat application Fring, you can. And it is cool. In fact, it's really cool. It just doesn't work very well. See, while Fring continues to innovate and improve with each update, its main function, video calling, remains less than stellar. Still, it's the only way to get a group of your friends on a video party line right now, and for some that will be reason enough to give it a try.

On boot-up of the app for iOS, Fring's main interface is clean and simple to navigate. There's a Spring Board strip at the bottom of the screen with icons for your Buddy List, History, Dialer, Profile, and More. The Buddy List hooks into the iPhone address book, and also picks up other Fring contacts if you have some. Tap on an address book entry, and you'll have the option of sending an instant message or calling via voice, video, or group. You can also send that particular contact a Fring invitation. The Android app is more pared down, but the general functionality remains the same.

Video calls have improved over past releases, but overall, the application is still not up to par with iOS video chat software such as FaceTime or Skype 3.0 (Free, 4 stars). Regardless of connection, my incoming video often stuttered and turned blocky on all four phones I tested. Audio quality was just OK, but would often cut out or fall out of sync with the video image.

While connectivity was smoother across the board using Wi-Fi than with 3G or 4G, it still didn't make for a seamless video chat experience. I encountered pixelation and audio issues on each of the four phones over Wi-Fi, though not as extreme.

Audio-only calls sounded better, but didn't approach the quality I have heard while using Skype 3.0 or Line2 2.4 ($14.95 monthly, 4 stars). Callers said I sounded "echoey," with occasional static. I heard some harshness on my side of the call too.

Stability is another issue. While the app worked fine on both iPhones and the T-Mobile myTouch 4G, it crashed a few times on the Motorola Atrix. Each time it crashed, I had to reboot the phone to get the app up and running again. Once it was running, I didn't experience any dropped calls. Unfortunately, the app is still a battery hog; I left the iPhone 4 with its home screen showing but with Fring loaded in the background, placed the phone on a table, and walked away. The screen shut off as normal, but two hours later, the iPhone had lost almost 20 percent of its battery life. The Atrix and the myTouch 4G experienced noticeable battery dips as well.

Group Video Calls, Other Features, and Conclusions
Group video calls are just plain cool. Sure, I can't imagine any real need for them, but I like the idea that you can essentially gather a group of friends or family across the world all in one place for a face-to-face conversation. And making a group call is just as simple as a regular video call. Simply choose a contact, and tap on Group Video. Once connected, a Plus icon on the bottom left corner of the screen allows you to invite another contact to chat. And then another. The screen is divided into four even-sized tiles, which are still large enough to see everyone clearly. When it's up and running and you're connected with four people, it's a pretty incredible experience. Unfortunately, it's dogged by the same poor quality as standard video calls, so like everything else about this app, it fails to live up to its full potential.

Fortunately, Fring does more than audio and video calls; it also offers instant messaging. The app hooks into Google Talk, MSN Messenger, Yahoo, AIM, and ICQ accounts, as well as Twitter and Facebook updates. You view all of these via the Stream icon, which consolidates everything neatly on one screen. Unfortunately, you can't adjust the polling frequency, so Facebook and Twitter updates tend to appear several minutes later in Fring than in dedicated apps.

The Profile page lets you set a contact picture and shows your latest Fring status update. The More page lets you manage currently active sessions, install add-ons, browse your call history, and add to your buddy list. Finally, the Settings page offers a toggle for push notifications for Fring calls, as well as chat, Facebook, and Twitter account notifications.

Skype 3.0 and FaceTime are still my preferred methods for VoIP calls on iOS devices. But neither Skype nor FaceTime allow for video calls between iOS and Android devices, or for Android devices to make calls between each other. And Fring is the only app to allow for group video chat, which, though imperfect, is very cool. Fring's developers are clearly moving in the right direction as far as innovation is concerned; I just hope they put some more work into the video chat experience itself. In the meantime, Fring will remain the app with the group video chatting that everyone wants to try, but no one really uses.

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About the Author

Jamie Lendino is the Editor-in-Chief of ExtremeTech.com, and has written for PCMag.com and the print magazine since 2005. Recently, Jamie ran the consumer electronics and mobile teams at PCMag, and before that, he was the Editor-in-Chief of Smart Device Central, PCMag's dedicated smartphone site, for its entire three-year run from 2006 to 2009. Pri... See Full Bio

Alex Colon is the managing editor of PCMag's consumer electronics team. He holds a Bachelor's Degree in English Writing and Literature from Pace University and got his start editing books before deciding technology would probably be a lot more fun.
Though he does the majority of his reading and writing on various digital displays, Alex still l... See Full Bio

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